“Get off me!”she shrieked, kicking out blindly.Her heel connected with armor, jarring her entire leg.“Raaevik!RAAEVIK!”
“Hold still, you littledraanthicbitch, he can’t hear you,” the warrior holding her snarled.
They hauled her to her feet, but her legs wouldn’t hold her.She sagged, dead weight, as they dragged her back toward the shuttle, her feet scraping along the floor.
Lucy was still standing there, weeping, her hands over her mouth.She watched them drag Emily past, her eyes wide with horror and guilt.
“You promised!”Lucy wailed at Korrait.“You promised you wouldn’t hurt her!”
Korrait paused on the ramp, looking back at the crying woman with disgust.
“I promised she would serve a greater purpose,” he said.“And she will.”
He nodded to the remaining guards.“Bring the other one, too.Loose ends are untidy.”
Lucy’s scream was cut short as a warrior grabbed her.
Emily fought.She really did.She twisted and kicked out.Sinking her teeth into a gloved hand, she tasted leather and sweat.The warrior grunted and backhanded her, a blow that snapped her head to the side and filled her mouth with blood as the world spun.
They reached the ramp.The interior of the shuttle was dark, a gaping maw.
“No,” she sobbed, the fight draining out of her as they shoved her further up the ramp.“Please.No.Raaevik!”
She screamed his name, a raw, tearing sound that echoed off the walls of the cargo bay as the ramp sealed with a final, booming thud.
Her struggles didn't buy her a damn thing.They hurled her inside like a sack of dirty laundry.
"Pathetic," one of them sneered, laughing as she hit the deck hard enough to rattle her teeth.She scrambled for traction, nails tearing at the metal as she tried to launch herself back toward the opening, but a heavy boot slammed into her spine and pinned her flat.
Lucy landed in a heap nearby, still wailing, but Emily ignored her.Twisting and snarling, she caught the guard raising his weapon out of the corner of her eye.
"Sleep," he grunted.
The rifle butt cracked against her temple.Pain exploded, blinding and absolute.The world dissolved into blackness, the hiss of the sealing ramp the last thing to fade.
